Fear plays a very interesting role in our lives.
In many ways, fear can be a crippling experience that effectively pushes the pause button on our progress forward. It can easily cause you to pull of the road for extended periods of time and freeze not being able to continue on the path forward.
However, fear also serves the function of letting us know that we are about to move past our initial limitations.
It signals growth to come. It signals opportunity.
I have been struck by fear many times and left paralyzed in the clutches of its teeth unable to make movement forward despite knowing deep within that I can.
Recently, after years of being trapped, I finally made movement forward through that invisible threshold and completely disintegrated the fears that once existed.
What’s even stranger is that it was easier than I ever could have imagined and felt just…right.
I guess that’s what happens for us when we fall into alignment with our deeper inner wisdom. You know, that voice that’s always softly guiding you towards the best path.
Being 10 days in and already experiencing just a fraction of what I know is possible for me, it makes me wonder at times what it is that’s just so crippling about fear.
I’ve spent a lot of time in the past breaking through these “boundaries” but every single time I grow and develop there’s a new dragon to slay. And as I sit here writing, I realize that maybe that’s a huge piece of it right there.
Our idea of fear is one of those things that causes more trouble than it should.
There’s the initial fear…but then there’s all the imagination that comes along with it. “Dragon to slay.” I can see that explaining it in that way only makes it worse even if it’s just an analogy.
A long time ago I came across this acronym for fear that explained it as False Evidence Appearing Real.
The perspective this granted me was huge.
It’s only appearing real…
There’s no dragon. There’s no cliff. There’s no leap.
All there is is you making the next small step.
The fears never end. They will always be there. But I think the real opportunity is to learn how to tackle them and move through them efficiently.
There will always be another edge to move past. That’s the beauty of life. It’s always unfolding and the opportunities to become more and more of who you really are continue if you are open to them.
In one way, it’s a shame that we allow fear so much control over us. But in another way it’s the key to help us unlock our will, strength and resilience.
When things are easy, everyone can be courageous.
But it’s when the darkness creeps in that you’re truly challenged to your core and have to really show up for yourself and others.
That’s how it has always been for me.
Feeling at home in the light.
Learning the most from the dark.
Evan Sanders
The Better Man Project